Friday, August 23, 2013

Designer Spotlight: Tamara Kate and Les Monsieurs!

Hi everyone, it’s Tamara again, back for another collection introduction. 

Gentlemen, start your engines … “Les Monsieurs” has arrived!


Last week I introduced you to the decidedly feminine Flight Patterns. This week is for the boys! Les Monsieurs was the second of my two lines to debut at Quilt Market this past Spring.



I created this line for my five-year old son Max, who, like most little boys, has a vivid imagination, loves playing with things that go fast, and dreams of one day being an astronaut, a race car driver, a pilot, a super hero that scales tall buildings … The list goes on. The name of the collection is all him. I love the way he talks about his wooden men, calling them “les monsieurs”, as opposed to the correct French “les messieurs”.



Much of the physical inspiration for the line is based on a series of wooden toys my husband Greg has been lovingly creating for Max since his first birthday.



While I wanted to design my interpretation of the toys, I also wanted to give them context. I love telling a story on fabric, and so tried to portray the dreams and aspirations of a boy who wants to be like his Papa, racing around a building block city of his own imagination, scarf blowing in the wind.



To appeal to a range of little boys’ (and their mama’s) tastes, I colored the line in three versions that can be used individually or all together.

I started with Aviator, a natural, somewhat earthy color way that still has a bit of zing to it. Then came Retro with a range of blues and pops of intense navy, bright turquoise and acid green. And for the little boys who love color, I created Soft Top that offers lots of brights in a very energized color way.



Sewing options abound. The first thing I wanted to make was a super hero cape (as pictured below). It is fully reversible and I will have a tutorial finished up within the next week or so over on my blog. The racing stripe up the middle is my favorite part.



Accessories are a big hit with my boy, so I made bow ties, bow ties and more bow ties. This was a really fun project, as the printed motifs are just the right size to play with pattern placement.



In recovering this chair seat, I played with the chevron, cutting it very finely to create little diagonal lines.



And clothing. This sweet, simple caftan-style top has been a hit! I have already had requests for adult versions.



And remember that I mentioned the three color ways could all be used together? Well, all you moms out there, be careful about showing this to your boy as he is going to run to start packing for a camping trip. This is a junior-sized quilted sleeping bag (with built-in pillow) using each and every fabric in the collection.



The chevrons, called Tire Treads, are a great dynamic filler fabric. They can blend in or stand out, depending on what you pair them with. There are twelve colorful options.



Now for some fun! Here is a link to a tutorial for a playful interactive pillow I created, the “Monsieur Pocket Pillow”. There is a little bit of simple painting involved as well as a bit of sewing.


  
The doll is removable and is meant to be your little monsieur today, or the racecar driver / aviator he dreams of being one day, depending on which way he is placed in the pocket. The pocket, of course, is also a great secret storage spot for a variety of little treasures, so be sure to search therein should keys or other small valuables go missing.



Once again, Michael Miller is kindly offering a giveaway … a fat quarter bundle in the Aviator color way to one randomly drawn lucky participant to sew a pocket pillow (or some other wonderful creation) for the adventurous little boy in their life. All you need to do is leave a comment below telling us which Les Monsieurs color way inspires you the most.





Well, it has been great being here with you the past two weeks. Thanks again for spending a bit of your time with me and for all the kind comments last week.

You can keep track of what I am creating here:


Happy sewing!
Tamara

 Comments are now closed. 
Thanks for participating!

And, the winner is...
(Chosen at random by random.org)

 Drea said...
"Love them all, butI keep going back to the Aviator (earth tone) color way. Maybe with fall around the corner, it is inspiring me the most to line a jacket and hat for my little guy or make a quilt... so many ideas, so little time!;-)  Thank you for the giveaway!"






31 comments:

erinmalia said...

i love that orange. i think i now know what to make for a nephew for Christmas.

Pienkel said...

So sweet! My boy would love this, as most three year old men he is fond of every vehicle he can think of ;-)

Especially the Retro colour scheme is fabulous!

Rebecca said...

These are so fun! My orange-loving son will think the aviator colorway is awesome. (He is also rather keen on chevrons.) If I were picking for other boys in the family, I would choose the retro. I just love the blue/green combo. That said, I love all the chevron prints. They might find there way into a more adult friendly project.

Cynthia Brunz Designs said...

I love the Retro colorway! Great line!

It's A Wonderful said...

I think I love the "Retro," but they're all adorable!!!

Unknown said...

I love the retro. This is adorable.

Barbe said...

i love the orange, the Aviator Colorway, little race cars, my nephews would love this

SewSuzie said...

Just gorgeous! Love Soft top.

everinprogress said...

My fav is the soft top, but they are all cute!

Kigwit said...

We're all about orange in my house-and my oldest boy even asked for a orange and pink quilt. I'm crazy about the mustachioed gents driving the cars.

Anonymous said...

HELLO, Love the orange!
I think children will too!
Thanks for sharing!

msstitcher1948@yahoo.com

Cecilia said...

My favorite color way is Soft Top! I don't have any grandsons yet, but my 3 young granddaughters would love this too. I may have to make them each a super cape. Thanks for the chance to win.

Ginger said...

Love the soft top colorway!

Lee said...

Congratulations on another fabulous line! I adore it and the little men in my life will be recieving some fun items for sure!

Brooke said...

I love this whole collection, but especially the Retro colorway!

petrina said...

Aviator for sure! It has all my boy's favourite colours :)

MaterialGirlQuilts said...

I love this entire line and all colors, but my favorite would probably be Soft Top!
Amanda

Anonymous said...

Love them all, butI keep going back to the Aviator (earth tone) color way. Maybe with fall around the corner, it is inspiring me the most to line a jacket and hat for my little guy or make a quilt... so many ideas, so little time!;-)
Thank you for the giveaway!

Emily C said...

Such beautiful colorways. I love how the colors in Soft Top are incorporated from the other two colorways. So, you can have orange and blue if you can't make up your mind.

Rina Mason said...

Such cute fabric and love where you got your inspiration from. My favorite is Aviator, love the orange.

carolann said...

I love all of the colorways, but if I must pick just one, Retro, those blues are great!! carolann427@aol.com

Unknown said...

Tamara these are fabulous designs! loving the concept and ideas you have applied, truly inspirational!

Keep up the amazing work!

p.s. the playful interactive pillow is my fav personal!!

xo
Eva

Unknown said...

These are amazing designs Tamara! I especially love the interactive pillow! It is adorable!

Great concept and thinking!!

xo

Eva

Anonymous said...

Tire treads is awesome. Have to say Retro since my LO would be awesome playing on those prints. My face chevron colors in that set. So much better without whit in them to show more dirt!

Danielle said...

so fun! Love the retro colors...my girls are more into cars and planes then butterflies and flowers...they'd love that!

Christine S said...

So cute!! I like the Aviator colorway :)

Amy said...

I adore the Aviator colorway! As much as I like the bright colors of the others, orange is always my first love :)

Andrea said...

I love the Soft Top colorway, so bright and fun for little boys!

Carla said...

Well I love greens so I would have to say the Soft Top. Thank you!

Michele T said...

OMG!! These fabrics are so darn cute!! I love the Soft Top colourway!! My little man would love this!!!! Thanks!!

Lauren Deel said...

I love these fabrics! The Retro colorway inspires me most, but I sure would be happy to win a FQ bundle of the Aviator. Thanks!